Recently, my cat (first time mom) gave birth to three kittens. We weren't entirely sure that she was pregnant or not at first but she was very round in the mid-section, so we took her to the vet. She's only 1.5 years old and she has never been in a car before so she was really stressed throughout the ride (which was pretty long). The vet couldn't tell whether she was pregnant or not and told us to come back in two weeks for an ultra sound. My cat gave birth the next day. So far, two out of the three kittens have died due to unknown reason. There was liquid coming out of them when we discovered them not moving (I tried to check on the babies every 1-2hrs, if possible). Our third kitten is still hanging on but it was born was a messed up leg. I was wondering is it possible that the vet visit stressed my cat mom out causing her to give birth prematurely; thus, causing the kitten to have defects and dying?
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Kitten Born Prematurely?
- Thread starter Mrs.Kazmi
- Start Date
It's not likely. It sounds like the kittens were born with birth defects.
How old is the remaining kitten?
Can you post a picture of it please?
Is it nursing well and gaining weight?
How old is the remaining kitten?
Can you post a picture of it please?
Is it nursing well and gaining weight?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
All of the kittens are under a week old. The one that's still hanging on is nearing one week old (still 23.5hrs to go as of this reply).
It cries a lot which I think is a good sign and s/he does feel pretty solid in the belly when I was moving it to a towel. However, my mom cat is pretty noob and she has a tendency to ignore her kittens' cry unless it's REALLY loud. Thankfully, I have another mom cat (the noob's mom) who helps take care of the remaining kitten but I'm not hopeful that this one will live. Its leg is very messed up and the fur seem to be coming in everywhere except the messed up leg area. It's completely bare.
I'll get back to the picture a little later. The noob's mom is blocking the kitten at the moment.
It cries a lot which I think is a good sign and s/he does feel pretty solid in the belly when I was moving it to a towel. However, my mom cat is pretty noob and she has a tendency to ignore her kittens' cry unless it's REALLY loud. Thankfully, I have another mom cat (the noob's mom) who helps take care of the remaining kitten but I'm not hopeful that this one will live. Its leg is very messed up and the fur seem to be coming in everywhere except the messed up leg area. It's completely bare.
I'll get back to the picture a little later. The noob's mom is blocking the kitten at the moment.
How much does the kitten weigh?
Does it nurse well?
What seems to be the issue with its leg?
Does it nurse well?
What seems to be the issue with its leg?
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- #5
We didn't bring the kitten to the vet yet in fear that
1) it might stress the noob out
2) we might hurt the kitten while we're getting there cause the poor thing looks so fragile
It does nurse pretty well. I've walked into him/her latched onto the noob's nipple on multiple occasions. It's very vocal so I don't think nursing would be an issue.
The leg was fine when s/he was born but we had two white ones in this litter and one of those kittens had the placenta still clinging onto its lower body. I honestly don't know does it have anything to do with that. My noobie gave birth underneath my bed so I couldn't reach them (my bed is pretty low). The kitten's leg somehow curled back into a knob and turned black. It was pretty dry looking. Yesterday, the knob disappeared and only got a little of black "flesh" remaining. I'm suspecting that the noob's mom licked it off while cleaning the kitten. The thigh is complete furless but the flesh is pink.
1) it might stress the noob out
2) we might hurt the kitten while we're getting there cause the poor thing looks so fragile
It does nurse pretty well. I've walked into him/her latched onto the noob's nipple on multiple occasions. It's very vocal so I don't think nursing would be an issue.
The leg was fine when s/he was born but we had two white ones in this litter and one of those kittens had the placenta still clinging onto its lower body. I honestly don't know does it have anything to do with that. My noobie gave birth underneath my bed so I couldn't reach them (my bed is pretty low). The kitten's leg somehow curled back into a knob and turned black. It was pretty dry looking. Yesterday, the knob disappeared and only got a little of black "flesh" remaining. I'm suspecting that the noob's mom licked it off while cleaning the kitten. The thigh is complete furless but the flesh is pink.
So the kitten has lost part of its leg? Which leg is affected?
Do you plan to spay your cats?
Do you plan to spay your cats?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
The left leg is affected. Everything below the thigh is gone.
I have one male and three females. We're thinking about doing something with the male cat cause he can get pretty aggressive towards my other cats. I'm guessing it has something to do with the testosterone.
I have one male and three females. We're thinking about doing something with the male cat cause he can get pretty aggressive towards my other cats. I'm guessing it has something to do with the testosterone.
The vet didnt felt something probably because she has dropped, and the kittens were in positions. At that moment they arent much movable. Also, them being extra fragile meant prob they were less moveable than average.
A little peculiar thought the vet didnt tried the ultrasound at once. It was perhaps on repair that day... Or he isnt very experienced.
So, the ride could of course stress out momma, and possibly even cause an earlier birth, but couldnt cause the birth defects. These comes much earlier in the pregnancy. also, kittens couldnt never ever survive a delivery two weeks too early. So if early, its not more than 2-3 days. You say he is hairy, save on this poor leg? See.
Its very important to weight the kitten every day, so you KNOW for sure it does gain minimum 6 grammes a day. But preferably 10+ grammes.
You see it latching and nursing, its good. But its not unusual a kitten is a weak suckler, or momma hasnt enough, and the kittens practically doesnt get nothing. We had some terrible examples here...
Weighing is the key to KNOW.
The placenta sitting on the white was possibly part of the defect.
Messed up leg isnt nice, but as the wound isnt open, and more or less healed, it should be OK.
Its possible the vet will do some surgery to tidy up the stump. But its prob no hurry with it.
Cats as a rule manage nicely on three legs, if they dont have more of difficult defects. If the three legs is the only problem, he will manage! Some "tripods" are even good hunters .
Is the kitten or momma white? A content kitten dont cries much. So either the kitten isnt much content OR it or momma has inferior hearing.
And yes, begin the spaying with neutering of the male, esp as he isnt terribly friendly with the females.
Observe he will be fertile at least a full week after the neutering, but may be longer, up to 6 weeks some say.
A little peculiar thought the vet didnt tried the ultrasound at once. It was perhaps on repair that day... Or he isnt very experienced.
So, the ride could of course stress out momma, and possibly even cause an earlier birth, but couldnt cause the birth defects. These comes much earlier in the pregnancy. also, kittens couldnt never ever survive a delivery two weeks too early. So if early, its not more than 2-3 days. You say he is hairy, save on this poor leg? See.
Its very important to weight the kitten every day, so you KNOW for sure it does gain minimum 6 grammes a day. But preferably 10+ grammes.
You see it latching and nursing, its good. But its not unusual a kitten is a weak suckler, or momma hasnt enough, and the kittens practically doesnt get nothing. We had some terrible examples here...
Weighing is the key to KNOW.
The placenta sitting on the white was possibly part of the defect.
Messed up leg isnt nice, but as the wound isnt open, and more or less healed, it should be OK.
Its possible the vet will do some surgery to tidy up the stump. But its prob no hurry with it.
Cats as a rule manage nicely on three legs, if they dont have more of difficult defects. If the three legs is the only problem, he will manage! Some "tripods" are even good hunters .
Is the kitten or momma white? A content kitten dont cries much. So either the kitten isnt much content OR it or momma has inferior hearing.
And yes, begin the spaying with neutering of the male, esp as he isnt terribly friendly with the females.
Observe he will be fertile at least a full week after the neutering, but may be longer, up to 6 weeks some say.
It's a shame the cord was wrappoed and caused the leg to turn necrotic. As Stefan said, cats manage well on 3 legs.
Neutering your male will solve a lot of problems!
Neutering your male will solve a lot of problems!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
The kitten doesn't cry much once the noob and the noob's mom are inside with him/her but it starts crying as soon as they leave it alone.
Yes, the noobie is white just like the noobie's dad (which was borrowed from a friend). The noobie's mom was 4-5 years old when we got her so she was very experienced with kittens. We didn't have to do anything before cause she took really good care of them so this time my hubby and I are kinda taken aback honestly. However, I don't think my noobie has any hearing issues cause she would wake up as soon as she hears me getting off the bed. She could seriously stand like 3 steps away from her babies and "couldn't hear them crying" unless they were crying VERY loudly. When the first kitten passed away, I took apart the bed cause I wanted to retrieve the body and buried it. This scared the crap outta the noob and she took her remaining kittens and hid them in the storage area we got in the third floor of our house (the bedroom is in the second floor). Afterward, she would come back into the room to enjoy the AC and absolutely refused to leave. My hubby and I went upstairs to look and the kittens were crying and she was oblivious to the fact. It took us a good 20mins to fetch the kittens and relocate them (cause where they were was very dusty and with no air circulation). She's acting like an irresponsible teenage mom who wanted the sex but not the baby. I don't know is this normal but my god! It's scaring me.
Yes, the noobie is white just like the noobie's dad (which was borrowed from a friend). The noobie's mom was 4-5 years old when we got her so she was very experienced with kittens. We didn't have to do anything before cause she took really good care of them so this time my hubby and I are kinda taken aback honestly. However, I don't think my noobie has any hearing issues cause she would wake up as soon as she hears me getting off the bed. She could seriously stand like 3 steps away from her babies and "couldn't hear them crying" unless they were crying VERY loudly. When the first kitten passed away, I took apart the bed cause I wanted to retrieve the body and buried it. This scared the crap outta the noob and she took her remaining kittens and hid them in the storage area we got in the third floor of our house (the bedroom is in the second floor). Afterward, she would come back into the room to enjoy the AC and absolutely refused to leave. My hubby and I went upstairs to look and the kittens were crying and she was oblivious to the fact. It took us a good 20mins to fetch the kittens and relocate them (cause where they were was very dusty and with no air circulation). She's acting like an irresponsible teenage mom who wanted the sex but not the baby. I don't know is this normal but my god! It's scaring me.
Not all moms are good moms. Most are really good, some are so so, some are as you describe it; "teenage moms whom arent caring much"... To be fair, some of the young cat moms and teenage moms, ARE good even terrific moms once they realize the situation.
A breeder would neuter her. Whom wants a breeding queen whom is a bad momma, and risk the line proceeds???
Still, I cant rule out she may have a weak hearing, as you tell it. Not totally amiss, but lower than normal. She knows when you are awaking by the vibrations when you move.
Luck is the grandmomma helps out some. And also, two vigilant humans.
A breeder would neuter her. Whom wants a breeding queen whom is a bad momma, and risk the line proceeds???
Still, I cant rule out she may have a weak hearing, as you tell it. Not totally amiss, but lower than normal. She knows when you are awaking by the vibrations when you move.
Luck is the grandmomma helps out some. And also, two vigilant humans.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #12
My husband and his family insist that the kittens are dying due to coldness cause we do live in a hotter climate so my AC is blasting almost all the time. My room is at 27 degrees Celsius day in and day out. I'm not entirely sure cause after the first kitten's passing, I moved the remaining kittens to our spare kitchen which is currently empty. The kitchen has a window which we closed partly cause the hot air can come in from outside and the heat does get pretty unbearable. I left the kitchen door slightly open so the cool air can get in somewhat. The kittens are kept inside the kitchen cabinet with the doors slightly opened for the mommas to come in and out. However, yesterday, another kitten passed away even after being relocated to a warmer area of the house. During the day, I went to check on the kitten and s/he appeared to be hyperventilating. It was gasping for air with its mouth. I googled and couldn't find much info so I just waited for my husband to come home, since he has more experience with newborn kittens but the kitten was a goner by the time he got home. At this point, I'm at a lost in regards to what's killing the kittens.
How many kittens are left?
I agree that you should spay your cat. This needs to be her last litter. Cats do not need to bear litter after litter. It is a burden.
I agree that you should spay your cat. This needs to be her last litter. Cats do not need to bear litter after litter. It is a burden.
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- #15
I honestly have no idea what to do at this point so I'm going for the middle ground: a bit of hot air and a bit of AC. So far, the kitten seem to be doing well. The mommas left it alone for a while and it cried bloody murder. S/he will be officially 1 week old in just 7hrs.
Oh! One thing I forgot to mention -- prior to taking noobie to the vet, my husband agreed to pet sit for a friend. The presence of another cat stressed the crap outta my noobie and she hissed at the cat (female) whenever she got the chance. (She was already hissing at my other female cats at this point.) We returned the cat to the initial person who took care of the cat for the friend just two days later cause none of our cats like her. We took the noobie to the vet just couple days after that. Could the stress from the foreign cat and the vet visit cause an early birth; thus, causing my kittens to have a weaker immune system?
Oh! One thing I forgot to mention -- prior to taking noobie to the vet, my husband agreed to pet sit for a friend. The presence of another cat stressed the crap outta my noobie and she hissed at the cat (female) whenever she got the chance. (She was already hissing at my other female cats at this point.) We returned the cat to the initial person who took care of the cat for the friend just two days later cause none of our cats like her. We took the noobie to the vet just couple days after that. Could the stress from the foreign cat and the vet visit cause an early birth; thus, causing my kittens to have a weaker immune system?
No, I would not think so.
In the future, when pet sitting, the cats need to be kept separate. Introductions take months, and the visitor needs to stay in a room of its own. This cuts way down on stress for all concerned.
You may never know what caused this. Hopefully, you'll spay her and not have to go through this again.
In the future, when pet sitting, the cats need to be kept separate. Introductions take months, and the visitor needs to stay in a room of its own. This cuts way down on stress for all concerned.
You may never know what caused this. Hopefully, you'll spay her and not have to go through this again.
You have right in this, IF they are premature - even just a couple of days, it sinks down dramatically their possibility to survive. They can often be saved by vigorous acting owner and maximal support, but its almost always a fight uphill.
We HAD cases when all 10(!) survived tx to a vigilant and resourceful owner / rescuer and quite a some of Gods help, but many do dies off esp if the conditions arent optimal... Too hot, or too cold, or not enough with moist in the air... Or....
Be prepared for supplement feeding. Raw goats milk is excellent. Canned or powdered goats milk is OK but not the same edge. OR some kmr, kittenmotermilk supplement. The brand of KMR in powder, made by PetAg, is probably the best of all kmr brands. But there are also others.
We HAD cases when all 10(!) survived tx to a vigilant and resourceful owner / rescuer and quite a some of Gods help, but many do dies off esp if the conditions arent optimal... Too hot, or too cold, or not enough with moist in the air... Or....
Be prepared for supplement feeding. Raw goats milk is excellent. Canned or powdered goats milk is OK but not the same edge. OR some kmr, kittenmotermilk supplement. The brand of KMR in powder, made by PetAg, is probably the best of all kmr brands. But there are also others.
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- #18
The kitten seems to be doing fine now. We talked to the vet and he said the baby is too young and the drive to the hospital would probably kill him. The vet prescribed some antibiotic cream and disinfecting gel so we now put these two things on the thigh and wrapped it for a few hours (the noobie will usually remove it for us before the hours are up). I had to make the difficult decision of kicking the grandmama out of the room yesterday night (and for the foreseeable weeks) cause her excessive need to clean the kitten caused the wound to reopen. We kicked her out and wrapped the poor thing in bandage. I kept checking on him today and he's doing pretty well. No more bleeding (yes, caused by the grandmama's licking). No crying. Drinking milk from the noobie.
This is good to hear! Poor grandma kitty - she meant well.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #20
One last update of my baby for those whom this may concern:
S/he is doing extremely well. The leg practically healed up and all that's remained is a small scab at the bottom of the thigh. The thigh bone that was initially exposed is now completely covered. The flesh in the inner thigh looks pink and the fur is starting to grow back. My baby has doubled in size and its eyes have opened. It sleeps most of the time and rarely cries now. The thigh healed up so nicely I'm starting to think maybe surgery isn't necessary but we will still take him/her to the vet for examination when the time comes.
I tried to upload a picture of him/her here but it just won't load so sorry about that.
S/he is doing extremely well. The leg practically healed up and all that's remained is a small scab at the bottom of the thigh. The thigh bone that was initially exposed is now completely covered. The flesh in the inner thigh looks pink and the fur is starting to grow back. My baby has doubled in size and its eyes have opened. It sleeps most of the time and rarely cries now. The thigh healed up so nicely I'm starting to think maybe surgery isn't necessary but we will still take him/her to the vet for examination when the time comes.
I tried to upload a picture of him/her here but it just won't load so sorry about that.
